This paper explores how and why relationships between firms, network linkages, and selection environments are related to geographical dimensions, within modern biotechnology at the overlap with pharmaceuticals. Theories from evolutionary economics and innovation studies are used to address questions related to the local–national–international dimensions of innovations. The concept of ‘environmental selection pressures’ is proposed, as one way to make sense of the differing patterns of firm formation, technological specialisation, and innovation. Preliminary evidence about developments in biotechnology-pharmaceuticals in Sweden and Australia is presented, to exemplify the conceptualisation and develop appreciative theorising. The paper concludes with implications for government policy as well as areas for future research.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbromovitzM, 1991Thinking about Growth and Other Essays on Economic Growth and Welfare (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, MA)
2.
AroraAFosfuriAGambardellaA, 2001Markets for Technology: The Economics of Innovation and Corporate Strategy (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA)
BraczykHCookePHeidenreichM (Eds), 1998Regional Innovation Systems (UCL Press, London)
5.
BrinkJDahlanderLMcKelveyM, 2004a, “The dynamics of regional specialization in modern biotechnology: comparing two regions in Sweden and two regions in Australia, 1977–2001”, in The Economic Dynamics of Modern Biotechnology Eds McKelveyMRickneALaage-HellmanJ (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Glos) forthcoming
6.
BrinkJSmithKMcKelveyM, 2004b, “Conceptualizing and measuring modern biotechnology”, in The Economic Dynamics of Modern Biotechnology Eds McKelveyMRickneALaage-HellmanJ (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Glos) forthcoming
7.
CampbellD, 1969, “Variation and selective retention in socio-cultural evolution”General Systems1469–85
8.
DahlanderLMcKelveyM, 2003, “Revisiting frequency and spatial distribution: innovation collaboration for biotech firms”, paper presented at the Annual 2004 DRUID conference, Denmark, http://www.druid.dk
DosiGTeeceDChytryJ (Eds), 1998Technology, Organization and Competitiveness: Perspectives on Industrial and Corporate Change (Oxford University Press, Oxford)
11.
EdquistCMcKelveyM (Eds), 2000Systems of Innovation: Growth, Competitiveness and Employment (Edward Elgar, Northampton, MA)
12.
ErikssonM-LMcKelveyM, 2004, “Operationalising the concept of industrial development centers and clusters in regional innovation policy: comparing policy practices in the Hunter Valley, Australia and Finspång, Sweden”Entrepreneurship and Regional Development (forthcoming)
FagerbergJ, 2003, “Schumpeter and the revival of evolutionary economics: an appraisal of the literature”Journal of Evolutionary Economics13(2) 125–160
15.
FossN (Ed.), 1997Resources, Firms and Strategies: A Reader in the Resource-based Perspective (Oxford University Press, Oxford)
16.
GökbayrakEMcKelveyM, 2002, “An inquiry into the dynamics of the East Sweden life sciences cluster”, unpublished manuscript, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg
17.
HodgsonG, 1988Economics and Institutions: A Manifesto for a Modern Institutional Economics (Polity Press, Oxford)
18.
HodgsonG, 1993Economics and Evolution: Bringing Life Back into Economics (Polity Press, Cambridge)
19.
HolménMMcKelveyM, 2003, “How to systematically study regional restructuration? IT and biotech case studies in Sweden”, special issue of European Planning Studies (forthcoming)
20.
HorstH (Ed.), 1999The Legacy of Joseph A Schumpter. Two Volume Reference Collection (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Glos)
21.
KlineS JRosenbergN, 1986, “An overview of innovation”, in The Positive Sum Strategy: Harnessing Technology for Economic Growth Eds LandauRRosenbergN (National Academy Press, Washington, DC)
22.
Laage-HellmanJMcKelveyMRickneA, 2004, “Stylised facts about innovation processes in modern biotechnology”, in The Economic Dynamics of Modern Biotechnology Eds McKelveyMRickneALaage-HellmanJ (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Glos)
23.
LoasbyB, 1998, “The organisation of capabilities”Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization35139–160
24.
LundvallB-Å (Ed.), 1992National Systems of Innovation: Towards a Theory of Innovation and Interactive Learning (Pinter, London)
25.
McKelveyM, 1996Evolutionary Innovation: The Business of Biotechnology (Oxford University Press, Oxford)
26.
McKelveyM, 2000, “Australian biotech firms: problems in appropriating economic returns to knowledge?”, in Economic and Social Impacts of Biotechnology Eds de la MontheJNiosiJ (Kluwer, Dordrecht)
27.
McKelveyM, 2001, “Innovative search activities: the firm in a dynamic selection environment”, electronic paper 159, 23 May, DRUID Summer Conference, http://www.druid.dk
28.
McKelveyM, 2002a, “The economics of biotechnology”, in The International Encyclopedia of Business and Management (International Thompson Business Press, London)
29.
McKelveyM, 2002b, “The economics of biotechnology”, in The Handbook of Economics (International Thompson Business Press, London)
30.
McKelveyMAlmHRiccaboniM, 2003, “Does co-location matter for formal knowledge collaboration in the Swedish biotechnology-pharmaceutical sector?”Research Policy32483–501
31.
McKelveyMOrsengioLPammolliF, 2004a, “Pharmaceuticals seen through the lens of a sectoral innovation system”, in Sectoral Systems of Innovation Ed. MalerbaF (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge)
32.
McKelveyMRickneALaage-HellmanJ (Eds), 2004bThe Economic Dynamics of Modern Biotechnology (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Glos)
33.
MaleckiE, 1997Technology and Economic Development: The Dynamics of Local, Regional and National Competitiveness (Addison Wesley Longman, Harlow, Essex)
34.
MalerbaF (Ed.), 2004Sectoral Systems of Innovation (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge)
35.
MalmbergA PMaskellP, 1997, “Towards an explanation of regional specialisation and industry agglomeration”, in Regional Specialisation and Local Environment—Learning and Competitiveness Ed. EskelininH (NordRefo, Stockholm)
36.
MaskellPEskelinenHHannibalssonIMalmbergAVatneE, 1998Competitiveness, Localised Learning, and Regional Development: Specialisation and Prosperity in Small Open Economies (Routledge, London)
37.
MetcalfeS, 1992, “Variety structure and change: an evolutionary perspective on the competitive process”, Revue d'Économie Industrielle5946–61
38.
MetcalfeS, 1998Evolutionary Economics and Creative Destruction (Routledge, London)
39.
MoweryDNelsonR R (Eds), 1999, “Sources of industrial leadership: studies of seven industries” (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge)
40.
NelsonR R, 1991, “Why do firms differ and how does it matter?”Strategic Management Journal1261–74
41.
NelsonR (Ed.), 1993National Systems of Innovation: Case Studies (Oxford University Press, Oxford)
42.
NelsonRWinterS, 1982An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA)
43.
OECD, 1994Science and Policy: Review and Outlook (OECD, Paris)
44.
OECD, 1997, “Revisions of the high-technology sector and product classification”, Science Technology and Innovation WP 1997/2 (OECD, Paris)
45.
OrsenigoLPammolliFRiccaboniM, 2001, “Technological change and network dynamics: lessons from the pharmaceutical industry”Research Policy30485–508
46.
PavittK, 1999Technology, Management and Systems of Innovation (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Glos)
47.
PowellW WKoputK WSmith-DoerrL, 1996, “Interorganizational collaboration and the locus of innovation: networks of learning in biotechnology”Administrative Science Quarterly41(1) 116–145
48.
RosenbergN, 1976Perspectives on Technology (M E Sharpe, Armonk, NY)
49.
RosenbergNBirdzellL, 1986How the West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation of the Industrial World (Basic Books, New York)
50.
SaviottiP P, 1996Technological Evolution, Variety and the Economy (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Glos)
51.
SaxenianA, 1994Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128 (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA)
52.
SchumpeterJ A, 1934The Theory of Economic Development (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA)
53.
SchumpeterJ A, 1943Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy (Allen and Unwin, London); reprinted 1994 (Routledge, London)
54.
SmithA, 1776An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nationshttp://www.econlib.org
55.
SwedbergR (Ed.), 1991Joseph A. Schumpeter: The Economics and Sociology of Capitalism (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ)
56.
TeeceDRummeltRDosiGWinterS, 1994, “Understanding corporate coherence: theory and evidence”, Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organisation231–30
57.
Vinnova, 2001The Swedish Biotechnology Innovation SystemVinnova (Swedish Agency for Innovation System), Stockholm
58.
WinterS, 2000, “The satisficing principle in capability learning”Strategic Management Journal21961–980
